NEW YORK: US Senator John McCain, a senior Republican Party leader, came out with a blistering statement against Donald Trump on Monday over the Republican nominee’s attacks on the Pakistani-American parents of US Army Capt Humayun Khan, who was killed in Iraq in 2004.
In the statement, McCain thanked the Khan family for immigrating to America. “… I’d like to say to Mr and Mrs Khan: thank you for immigrating to America.”
“We’re a better country because of you. And you are certainly right; your son was the best of America, and the memory of his sacrifice will make us a better nation – and he will never be forgotten.”
He said that in recent days, Donald Trump disparaged a fallen soldier’s parents. “He has suggested that the likes of their son should not be allowed in the United States – to say nothing of entering its service,” McCain, a war hero whose service and capture in Vietnam was also once derided by Trump, he said.
“I cannot emphasise enough how deeply I disagree with Mr Trump’s statement. I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers, or candidates.”
“In the end, I am morally bound to speak only to the things that command my allegiance, and to which I have dedicated my life’s work: the Republican Party, and more importantly, the United States of America. I will not refrain from doing my utmost by those lights simply because it may benefit others with whom I disagree,” the statement continued.
Khizr and Ghazala Khan gave a moving tribute to their son on the last night of the Democratic National Convention. During his speech, Khizr Khan slammed Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States and accused Trump of never having read the constitution.
Trump was put on the defensive and has attacked the parents, saying Khan had “no right to stand in front of millions of people and claim I have never read the constitution, (which is false) and say many other inaccurate things.”
“Arizona is watching,” McCain, who is chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, said. “It is time for Donald Trump to set the example for our country and the future of the Republican Party. While our party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered licence to defame those who are the best among us.”
The Arizona senator has said he will support Trump though he did not attend the Republican National Convention last month.
